According to the 2018 General Education Program, high school students are allowed to choose subjects that suit their abilities to focus on developing their strengths, clearly define their goals and build an optimal learning path. However, the current selection of subjects and exams is still subjective and unbalanced.
STUDENTS ARE AFRAID OF NATURAL SCIENCES DUE TO… INTEGRATED TEACHING?
A secondary school science teacher in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, said that many students are not interested in natural sciences. According to this teacher, knowledge in natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) is often theoretical and abstract, requiring logical thinking and memorization. If not taught in a lively way, students may feel bored or confused.
In many localities, high school students' choice of subjects and the 2025 high school graduation exam are following a trend towards social science subjects.
PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH
There are many reasons such as: old teaching methods, little use of practical experiments, lack of connection between knowledge and practical application, making students unable to see the meaning of the subject. Besides, because a single subject teacher from the old program teaches all 3 subjects of the new program, there is still a situation of "teaching for the sake of it" instead of teaching in the style of "knowing 10, teaching 1". On the other hand, in some schools, 3 subjects are taught by 3 teachers, creating a lot of psychological pressure, making students afraid of studying Natural Science.
Many parents find the subject difficult so they do not encourage it or do not have a clear direction about the role of Natural Sciences in life. This affects students' interest and awareness.
"When entering high school, the tendency of students and parents is to choose easy and light subjects, so most of them lean towards social sciences (KHXH). A few, due to their family's dreams and expectations, choose the combination of natural sciences to study health, mechanical engineering, construction...", this teacher stated the reality and added information that when teaching physics, chemistry, and biology at the middle school level, they discovered a huge knowledge gap in most students.
Master Pham Phuong Binh, Deputy Head of Continuing Education Department of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, also said that most teachers of natural sciences are trained in a "fire-fighting" manner (teachers of physics are trained in chemistry and biology, similar to teachers of chemistry and biology). This approach cannot meet the program's objectives when requiring teaching according to students' abilities. This creates a mentality of students being bored with natural sciences because they cannot perceive, understand and apply knowledge. The "loss of basic knowledge" from secondary school level leads to students being "afraid" of physics, chemistry and biology.
PSYCHOLOGY OF CHOOSING SOCIAL SCIENCES "FOR EASY"
In addition, according to Mr. Pham Phuong Binh, it is also due to the uneven assessment between subjects. Some teachers of physics, chemistry, and biology often give a lot of difficult knowledge and excellent student exam questions to teach and test. Students are more likely to get lower scores than when studying social sciences. Most students who choose to study natural sciences have to take extra classes to supplement their knowledge and solve exercises, and practice questions, which is also a cause of stress and pressure and leads to a tendency to change students' subject choices. When comparing natural sciences and social sciences, students find history and geography easier.
In addition, Mr. Binh said that the change in the admission method of universities with many diverse methods, in which many students choose to consider their high school transcripts and participate in separate exams, leads to not focusing on traditional university admission combinations. The admission of some universities based on their high school transcripts requires students to calculate and choose which subjects are easier to get high scores.
Mr. Binh believes that it is also a change from the parents. If in the past parents imposed on their children's education, now they accompany, share and accept their children's choices. Many parents only require their children to study well, have less pressure, and be happy and joyful when going to school. This is also the reason for the trend of changing subject choices right from grade 10.
According to many teachers, in fact, choosing social sciences to study lightly is a temporary mentality, which is also obvious. The problem is that the block of majors for university admission in natural sciences is also very diverse, so if students narrow down and do not choose to study natural sciences, they will lose many opportunities in majors that need high-quality human resources in technology, science and engineering - which is the basic foundation for national industrial development. In addition, teachers at high school level need to create passion and sow the seeds of natural sciences so that the proportion of students who love natural sciences and social sciences is equal.
Grade 12 students are in the process of considering elective subjects for the upcoming high school graduation exam.
photo: peach jade
NEED TO INNOVATE TESTING, ASSESSMENT AND ADMISSION
According to the vice principal of a high school in Thu Duc City (HCMC), in order to eliminate the mentality of choosing social sciences because it is easy to study and has a good academic record, it is necessary to solve the problem from teacher training to the orientation of connecting the implementation of the program between junior high school and high school, especially between the high school program and the enrollment of universities. The core of the problem is to innovate the assessment and enrollment to be consistent with the goals of the 2018 General Education Program.
Regarding this issue, Master Pham Le Thanh, a teacher at Nguyen Hien High School (District 11, Ho Chi Minh City), suggested that the Ministry of Education and Training should soon give directions for the 2025 high school graduation exam, how to use the results of this exam for university admission. Because in reality, according to regulations, students taking the 2025 high school graduation exam will take 4 subjects, of which 2 are compulsory subjects: math and literature; the remaining two subjects are optional from foreign languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, economic education and law, technology and information technology. Thus, the number of subjects tested does not cover all the traditional combinations for university admission.
Master Thanh analyzed that although there were nearly 100 combinations of 3 subjects for admission, in reality, students only registered for admission based on traditional exam blocks such as block A00 (math, physics, chemistry), A01 (math, physics, foreign language), B00 (math, biology, chemistry), C00 (literature, history, geography), D01 (math, literature, English). Each major usually recruits students based on many combinations, a maximum of 4 and only around 5 traditional combinations.
"The Ministry needs to study the use of high school graduation exam scores for university admission to ensure fairness if using multiple subject combinations for admission to the same major. Universities can currently use their own admission methods, but each place has a different method. Therefore, we hope that the Ministry of Education and Training will issue specific regulations on state management in the admission regulations to ensure inspection and supervision of exam quality and fairness for learners," teacher Pham Le Thanh suggested.
The "3 Understanding" formula balances STUDENTS ' choices
With the current general education program, students are allowed to choose subjects that suit their abilities. Therefore, students and parents need to pay attention and have the right perspective to choose correctly and help students maximize their abilities as well as not make the balance of choosing subjects unbalanced in an emotional way.
To do this, Master Pham Le Thanh said that students need to grasp the "3 Understanding" formula when choosing a subject.
First of all, "Know Yourself" is the key factor when choosing a combination of subjects. Students need to understand themselves. This includes understanding their personal abilities, strengths and weaknesses, potential abilities and interests. Students should ask themselves: "What skills do I have that I feel confident in doing? What activities do I like? What do I want to do in the future?"
Next is to "Understand the profession", because in the process of choosing subjects according to career orientation, students need to learn about different professions, necessary skills and development trends. Parents, teachers, and schools need to support students in analyzing and forecasting career trends and necessary human resources in society so that they can orient their careers.
And especially "Understanding the University" you want to study at will have what admission/exam methods that match your strengths. What subjects do the specific exams of each university require you to study well?...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-hoc-sinh-chon-dung-mon-hoc-mon-thi-tot-nghiep-18524120622195462.htm
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